I will switch to a new HP Z3200 (coming from a HP Z2100) since the prices for new such machines have meanwhile decreased considerably with some German dealers.

Till the end of January there is an additional 300 Euro HP paper bonus program with this printer which means HP gives away original HP print media on the customers choice up to 300 Euro for free. Since I haven't used HP papers in the past and I haven't found much threads on HP paper in this forum (for good reasons...!?) I like to ask you guys on some advice, which HP papers or canvas media do you have good experience with and which might be worth a consideration, even though not necassarily for productive use (selling prints).

I do both, color and b&w. On my old HP Z2100 I use the Hahnemühle Harman Baryt paper mostly for color and high contrast b&w images and Moab Entrada Rag mostly for b&w.

Matte Litho Realistic is one of my favourite paper for B&W, also favourite choice of others when I print for them. Even for color works that does not need vibrant colors.All HP canvases are excellent but in this type of material I do not have wide range of choices here in Croatia therefore I was not able to compare it to the other type of canvases except with HM and Epson. There are some non OEM canvases on market but they had problem of easy ink rubbing from surface months after printing.

What I especially like with HP printing media is their price, on our market HP prices are hard to beat, especially when you compare it to HM. HM have prices that are several times higher than HP. For example I decide to do my latest exhibition on Bamboo, and I regret it. Price was exactly 14 times higher than Matte Litho Realistic. I had a lot of problem with paper you can see it in the thread: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=64042.msg515554#msg515554

Because of that 40 % of my prints are unusable due to the fact that I print with a margin. After all when prints was framed under the glass they look almost the same as the test prints I made on Matte Litho Realistic. Price for working on the Bamboo was exactly 20 times higher than if I work on Matte Litho Realistic.

By far my favorite is HP Pro Satin. Excellent for all work and performs 100% perfectly every time - no pizza wheel marks, no head strikes, nothing - all the way to the end of each roll - something that is VERY hard to come by with these printers. I can even fake the printer, tell it it's ID gloss and print borderless perfectly on it. Great for posters.

I’ve used the HP premium instant dry gloss and satin papers. These produce great results but are sensitive to creases if not handled very carefully. Creases are mostly a problem for bigger prints and due to this I’ve adopted the habit of feeding the finished prints directly onto foam core and use that for transport.

I dunno if they still make it but have used HP/Hahnemuhle textured fine art paper and it produces nice, painterly results. This is great for images with soft colors.

HP Professional Satin for the broadest range of PK ink work is my suggestion. It is certainly decent paper, and gave no issues, ever, with our Z3200. I never tried any HP-branded MK or canvas materials.

Thanks a lot so far. Something I am wondering -- after a little bit of research which papers HP is offering -- what makes the difference between their Professional and Premium papers? Premium "sounds" more sophisticated!?

Thanks a lot so far. Something I am wondering -- after a little bit of research which papers HP is offering -- what makes the difference between their Professional and Premium papers? Premium "sounds" more sophisticated!?

Thomas

Professional Satin 300 gsm is in this case the better quality; heavier paper base, excellent print quality and possibly no HP logo printed at the back (can not find the sample). It tested not that good in Aardenburg Imaging's fade resistance testing though. Check the HP papers there too, the ones that were printed with Vivera pigment ink.

Next to HP Matte Litho-Realistic (may shift paper white too in time according A-M) the two Hahnemühle produced papers, HP HM Smooth and Textured (Photorag and William Turner quality actually) are excellent. So if they still have that quality available. The HP Prof. Matte Canvas 430gsm is as good as any top quality canvas. The HP ID Premium RC qualities are good but I think Epson shifts the production to Everyday and Universal qualities that are lower in weight.

The official HP catalog in Germany does not show all of the above and I am not sure what is still in the pipeline. Mainly using third party media here right now.

"The HP ID Premium RC qualities are good but I think Epson shifts the production to Everyday and Universal qualities that are lower in weight. "

I'm not sure what this means, but I'm hoping to learn more. I've recently profiled the hp everyday satin and found it to be very similar appearance wise to the epson prem luster and a significantly reduced price. I'm considering using it for an everyday test paper( no pun intended). Do you (or anyone else, of course) know if these papers are indeed basically the same. Additionally, any other insights into what are the differences in the premium or pro in similar surfaces? Are there similar papers that I should look into from a value consideration? Thanks for all the great help.Stuart

"The HP ID Premium RC qualities are good but I think Epson shifts the production to Everyday and Universal qualities that are lower in weight. "

The Everyday is 235 grams and the ID Premium 260 grams a square meter, the spectral plot is very similar so I would guess the inkjet coating could be the same. The Universal is 190 grams and it looks like there is another OBA used in that paper.

I had the wrong information on the Premium qualities, they are still listed here so not replaced by Everyday as I thought.